Liberty Counsel, a prominent international nonprofit litigation, education, and public policy organization who authored the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment issued the following advisory last week:

"No clerk outside of Washington County is bound by the federal judge’s ruling," the letter from the legal counsel says, “and it would be a crime under Florida law for a clerk in any of those 66 other counties to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.'

Liberty Counsel will defend—at no cost to taxpayers—any Florida court clerk who is sued for upholding Florida’s marriage laws. Liberty Counsel will also defend any clerk in Washington County or elsewhere who, for conscience reasons, refuses to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

Furthermore, on December 15, 2014, Greenberg Traurig attorneys for the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers unequivocally stated in the conclusion of their binding legal memo:

"We realize that it may seem to many that Judge Hinkle's federal district court ruling that Florida's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights would permit all Florida clerks of court to to lawfully issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

However, as discussed above, our review of the law indicates that an order and injunction issued at the federal trial level is not binding on any person, including a clerk of court, who is not a named party in the action. Nor does such a ruling bind any other court.

Thus, we remain of the opinion that clerks of court who were not parties to the Northern District case are not bound by Judge Hinkle's Order – or protected by it. Clerks are subject to Florida’s criminal penalties for the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Until such time as there is a binding appellate ruling (see footnote 3, supra), we are constrained to advise that despite the Order, clerks remain exposed to Florida’s criminalization of the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples".